The College Board canceled 50 AP U.S. History scores Thursday after a student in the Lower Gym reportedly breathed during the document-based question (DBQ) section with unusual force.
The incident occured shortly after students opened the DBQ packet. Students in the room said several test takers looked up at the same time before the proctor stopped walking and turned toward the second row. Proctor and AP Chemistry teacher Linda Hargrove documented the disturbance on a pink form. She wrote for nearly two minutes while staring toward the ceiling vent.
“At approximately 9:47 a.m., I heard one full breath from the second row,” Hargrove said. “Absolutely unprecedented.”
Junior Jackson Smith sat in seat 141 and became the center of attention by the end of the school day. Students passing him in the hallway reportedly began taking shallow breaths before laughing and walking away.
Smith denied responsibility for the cancellation.
“I would never intentionally breathe during a nationally administered exam,” Smith said.
The cancellation triggered panic among affected students. Several had spent months taking practice tests on BlueBook, memorizing Supreme Court cases and learning how to mention the Market Revolution in any DBQ regardless of the prompt and sources.
Junior Maya Patel said that the decision erased weeks of grueling preparation.
“I swear I had a five in the bag,” Patel said. “Until it got sucked away by Jackson’s breath.”
McLean’s College and Career Center met with affected students Friday to discuss makeup options and any potential concerns about college credit.
“What happened this morning was tragic,” counselor Amber Jensen said. “But I want students to know that one exam does not define you, and more importantly, there is always an ‘additional information’ section on the Common App to explain to colleges that your score got cancelled because somebody breathed.”
Later in the afternoon, Hargrove and other test proctors went to work to ensure that such a disaster would not happen again during the AP Music Theory exam in the afternoon. By lunch, the Lower Gym had been covered with signs reading “Turn Lungs Off,” “No Carbon Dioxide Allowed” and “Please Respire Off School Grounds.”
College Board did not respond to questions about whether students in the future could take their test in a less breathing-friendly environments.
“There’s plenty of viable alternatives to the Lower Gym,” Hargrove said. “Like outer space. Nobody I know can breathe there.”
With AP Biology scheduled for the next morning at 8:00 a.m., multiple students taking the exam began preparing. Three students were spotted outside of the Yellow Hallway pressing Scotch tape across their nostrils. Another two tested clothespins from the art room.
“While we haven’t heard back from College Board, our brilliant students came up with their own ingenious solution,” Hargrove said. “No nose, no problem.”
